Dungeon Master's Guide

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CREDITS D&D Lead Designers: Mike Mearls, jeremy Crawford Dungeon Master's Guide Leads: ·Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins, james Wyatt Designers: Robert J. Schwalb, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee Editors: Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Michele Carter, Chris Sims, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes Producer: Greg Bilsland Art Directors: Kate Irwin, Dan Gelon, jon Schindehette, Mari Kolkowsky, Melissa Rapier, Shauna Narciso Graphic Designers: Emi Tanji, Bree Heiss, Trish Yochum, Barry Craig Cover Illustrator: Tyler jacobson Interior Illustrators: Rob Alexander, Dave Allsop, Daren Bader, Mark Behm, Eric Belisle, Steven Belledin , Kerem Beyit, Noah Bradley, Aleksi Briclot, Filip Burburan , Milivoj Ceran , Sidharth Chaturvedi, Conceptopolis, jD, jesper Ejsing, Wayne England , Emily Fiegenschuh, Scott M. Fischer, justin Gerard , E.W.Hekaton , jon Hodgson, Ralph Horsley, Tyler Jacobson , Jason )uta, Sam Keiser, Chad King, Vance Kovacs , Oily Lawson, Chuck Lukacs , Howard Lyon, Victoria Maderna, Aaron Miller, Mark Molnar, Terese Nielsen, William O'Connor, Hector Ortiz, Adam Paquette, Claudio Pozas , Steve Prescott, David Rapoza , Rob Rey, Aaron J. Riley, Amir Salehi, Mike Schley, Chris Seaman, Sean Sevestre, ll ya Shkipin, Carmen Sinek, Craig J Spearing, john Stanko, Alex Stone, Matias Tapia, joel Thomas, Cory Trego-Erdner, Beth Trott, Cyril Van Der Haegen, Raoul Vitale, Tyler Walpole, julian Kok joon Wen, Richard Whitters, Eva Widermann, Mark Winters , Ben Wootten, Kieran Yanner, james Zhang Additional Contributors: Wolfgang Baur, C.M. Cline, Bruce R. Cordell , jesse Decker, Bryan Fagan, james jacobs, Robin D. Laws, Colin McComb, David Noonan, Rich Redman , Matt Sernett, Lester Smith, Steve Townshend, Chris Tulach, Steve Winter, Chris Youngs Project Management: Neil Shi Production Services: Cynda Ca :j ;;.~ jefferson Dunlap, David Ge rs nM a~ .:. ~ '-..;;. Brand and Marketing: athan S· '"~· · Chris Lindsay, Shelly azza o e. - ;;. Laura Tommervik, Kim Lunosao,.,.... - .e Based on the original D&D game created E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arn eso • with Brian Blume, Rob Kuntz, j am es ~a r . a c - · ;;. :: Drawing from further development by J. Eric Holmes, To m Moldvay, Fra nk en:zer, s::: - Harold j ohnson, David " Zeb" Cook, Ed Green o • Keith Baker, Tracy Hickman, Marga re Weis, Do gas es jeff Grubb, jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip illia s. Richard Baker, Peter Ad ki so n, Bill Slavicse k, Andy Co ~ s an d Rob Heinsoo Playtesting provided by over 175,000 fans of D& D. Thank you! Additional feedback provied by Teos Ab adia , Robert Alaniz, jason Baxter, Bill Benham, Darron Bowley, David Calla nde r, Mik Ca low, Christopher D'Andrea, Brian Danford, Krupa ! Desai , josh Dill ard, SalT' E. Simpso n Jr. , Tim Eagon, David Ewalt, Rob Ford, Rober. Ford , Ja son Fu ller, Pierce Ga ithe, Rich ard Gree n, Chris op e· Hackler, Adam Hennebeck, Sterling Hershey, Pau l Hughes. Gregory L. Harris, Yan Lacha rite, Shane Leah y, Ryan Leary. Tom Lommel , Jonathan Longstaff, Rory Madden, Matt Maranda, Derek Mcintosh, Pau l Melamed, Shawn Merwin, Lou Michelli, Mike Mihalas, David Milma n, Daren Mitchel. Matthew Mosher, David Muller, Kevin Neff, Adam Page, jon Proudfoot, Max Reichlin , Karl Resch , Matthew Rolston, j asor Romein, Sam Sherry, Pieter Sleijpen, Robin Stacey, David "Oak" Stark, Adam Strong-Morse, Arthur Wright ON THE COVER Tyler jacobson illustrates the arch lich Acerera k as he raises an army of undead and prepares to unleash it on an unsuspecting world . 620A921900000l EN ISBN: 978-0-7869-6562-5 First Printing: December 2014 987654321 CE Disclaimer: Wizards of the Coast does not officially endorse the following u;c:-·c:s. ,..,. cr. are gJarorue.td to maximize your enj oyment as a Dungeon Master. First, always keep a straight f ace and say OK no matter how ludicrous or doomed the pla yers' plan of action is. Suo,. a ra tr.a:-~r .......a: happens, pretend that you intended all alongfo r everything to unfold the way it did. Third, if you're not sure what to do next, feign if/ness, end the session early, and plor yo;.~r- rt.r: rr.o .. ~ . ,.er. a/ else fails, roll a bunch of dice behind your screen, study them fo r a moment with a look of de ep concern mixed with regret, let loose a heavy sigh, and announce that T10rra: ~frorP:" =~e s and attacks. DUN GEONS & DRAGO NS , 0&0 , Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Rea lms. rr~ ::7~,... ... =-- ~"'0 ~ Poyer's Handbook, Monster Ma nual, Dungeon Moster's Guide, al l other Wiza rds of the Coast product na mes, an d their respective logos are trademarks ofWiz a""".s : :. - ~ ~st - ~re SA and other countries. All characters and thei r distinctive like nesses are property of Wizards of t he Coast. Th is material is protected und er th e copyri ght laws o: ·-e - :.e= S:z:es or A~erica. Any re production or una uthorized use of t he material or artwork contained he rein is prohibited without the ex press writ ten pe rmissio n of Wizards of toe Coa:s: •· .-factored by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile- Boechat 31, 2800 Dele mont, CH.
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 Unusual Environments .............................................. 116 Traps ........................................................ ...................... 120 The Dungeon Master .................... ................................... 4 How to Use This Book ..................................... ...............4 CHAPTER 6: BETWEEN ADVENTURES ............ 125 Know Your Players ................................................ ........... 6 Linking Adventures ................................ .................... 125 Campaign Tracking ..................................................... 126 PARTl 7 Recurring Expenses ................................................... 126 Downtime Activities ................................................... 127 CHAPTER 1: A WORLD OF YOUR OWN .. .............. 9 The Big Picture ................................................................. 9 Gods of Your World .............................................. .......... 10 Mapping Your Campaign ............................................... 14 Settlements ..................................................................... 15 Languages and Dialects ............................................... 20 Factions and Organizations ......................................... 21 Magic in Your World ..................................................... 23 CHAPTER 7: TREASURE ......................................... 133 Types of Treasure ....................................................... 133 Random Treasure .. ....... .............................................. 133 Magic Items .................................................................. 135 Sentient Magic Items ............ ..................................... 214 Artifacts ......................................................................... 219 Other Rewards ............................................................ 227 Creating a Campaign ................................................... 25 Campaign Events .......................................................... 26 PART3 233 Play Style ........................................................................ 34 CHAPTER 8: RUNNING THE GAME ................. 235 Tiers of Play ........ ............................................................ 36 Table Rules .......................................................... .. .. ..... 235 Flavors of Fantasy ...........................:............................ 38 The Role of Dice .......................................................... 236 CHAPTER 2: CREATING A MULTIVERSE .. ....... 43 Using Ability Scores ................ .. .. .............................. 237 The Planes ..................................................................... 43 Exploration ................................................................... 242 Planar Travel ................................................................. 44 Social Interaction ......................................... .............. 244 Astral Plane ........................................:.......................... 46 Objects ........................................................................... 246 Ethereal Plane ............................................................... 48 Combat .......................................................................... 247 Feywild ....:........................ ............................................... 49 Chases ........................................................................... 252 Shadowfell ......................................................... ....'.......... 51 Siege Equipment .............................................,........... 255 Inner P lanes .................................................................... 52 Diseases ........................................................................ 256 Outer P lanes .................................................................. 57 Poisons ........................ .................................................. 257 Other Planes .................................................................. 67 Madness ........................................................................ 258 Known Worlds of the Material Plane ....................... 68 Experience Points ....................................................... 260 PART2 69 CHAPTER 3: CREATING ADVENTURES ............ 71 Elements of a Great Adventure .................................. 71 Published Adventures ............... ................................... 72 Adventure Structure .................................................... 72 Adventure Types ........................................ ................... 72 Complications ................................................ ................ 79 Creating Encounters ..................................................... 81 CHAPTER 9: DuNGEON MASTER's WORKSHOP .................................................................. 263 Ability Options ............................................................. 263 Adventuring Options ................ .................................. 266 Combat Options .......................................................... 270 Creating a Monster ..................................................... 273 Creating a Spell.. ......................................................... 283 Creating a Magic Item ............................................... 284 Creating New Character Options ............................ 285 Random Encounters .............................................. ...... 85 APPENDIXA: RANDOM DUNGEONS 290 CHAPTER 4 : CREATING NONPLAYER CHARACTERS ................................................................ 89 Designing NPCs ........................................................... 89 NPC Party Members .................................................... 92 Contacts .......................................................................... 93 Hirelings ....................................................................... .. 94 Extras ................... .. ............................................. .. .......... 94 Villains ............................................................................ 94 Starting Area .................................... ....... ...... .............. 290 Passages ...... .. ............................................................... 290 Doors ............................................................................. 291 Chambers ..................................................................... 291 Stairs ............................................................................. 291 Connecting Areas .... ................................................. .. 292 Stocking a Dungeon ...................... ............................. 292 Villainous Class Options ............................................. 96 APPENDIX B: MONSTER LISTS 302 CHAPTER 5: ADVENTURE ENVIRONMENTS ... 99 Dungeons ........................................................................ 99 APPENDIX C: MAPS 310 Mapping a Dungeon ................................................... 102 ---------------------- Wilderness ............. .. ..................................................... 106 Mapping a Wilderness ....... ........................................ 108 Wilderness Survival ............ .................... ................... 109 APPENDIX D: DUNGEON ------------------- MASTER INSPIRATION 316 Settlements .................................................................. 112 Mapping a Settlement.. ............................................... 114 INDEX 317 Urban Encounters ..............:......................................... 114 ------------------------------
Page 4 and 5: INTRODUCTION T'S GOOD TO BE THE DUN
Page 6 and 7: KNow YouR PLAYERS The success of a
Page 9 and 10: OUR WORLD IS THE SETTING FOR YOUR C
Page 11 and 12: for example, might also be patron o
Page 13 and 14: FORCES AND PHILOSOPHIES Not all div
Page 15 and 16: SETTLEMENTS The places where people
Page 17 and 18: _ lost settlements are agricultural
Page 19 and 20: each is ruled by a council of drow
Page 21 and 22: 11ARPER5 ORDER OF THE GAUNTLET EMER
Page 23 and 24: dedicated to preserving the natural
Page 25 and 26: CREATING A CAMPAIGN The world you c
Page 27 and 28: PuTTING EvENTS IN MoTION -------- W
Page 29 and 30: • Describe or name the creature t
Page 31 and 32: Who or what is to blame for the los
Page 33 and 34: times of day. And some holy days ar
Page 36 and 37: CHARACTER NAMES Part of your campai
Page 38 and 39: Characters who reach 20th level hav
Page 40 and 41: DARK FANTASY Vampires brood on the
Page 43 and 44: HAPTER 2: CREATING A MULTIVERSE lHE
Page 45 and 46: "PLANAR PORTALS • aistlin's] eyes
Page 47 and 48: dead god or other chunks of rock dr
Page 49 and 50: ETHEREAL CURTAINS d8 Plane Color of
Page 51 and 52: S HADOWFELL • iven stood in the u
Page 53 and 54:
wt of clashing energies and collidi
Page 55 and 56:
PLANE OF FIRE Fire represents vibra
Page 57 and 58:
·cinder Wastes ,, ' '" THE EM ENTA
Page 59 and 60:
-=:;.·.,.,-,
Page 61 and 62:
O PTIONAL RULE: INTENSE YEARNING -e
Page 63 and 64:
that figure into the schemes of the
Page 65 and 66:
Stygia is also home to its previous
Page 67 and 68:
have the celestial type and are alw
Page 69:
I' A
Page 72 and 73:
USEFUL MAPS A good adventure needs
Page 74 and 75:
O""i'Mi:.'i\ C.o~"L~ dl2 Goal Seize
Page 76 and 77:
ongoing plan to commit more crimes,
Page 78 and 79:
Suspects might be obvious or could
Page 80 and 81:
on the characters. A love interest
Page 82 and 83:
COMBAT ENCOUNTER DIFFICULTY There a
Page 84 and 85:
medium, hard, and deadly encounters
Page 86 and 87:
CHECKING FOR RANDOM ENCOUNTERS You
Page 89 and 90:
CHAPTER 4: CREATING NONPLAYER CHARA
Page 91 and 92:
BOND In a sentence, summarize the p
Page 93 and 94:
protecting lower-level NPC party me
Page 95 and 96:
o1 LL AIN 1 S METHODS d20 Methods M
Page 97:
H A NNEL DIVINITY: TOUCH OF DEATH :
Page 100 and 101:
eholder·s disintegration eye ray h
Page 102 and 103:
after door and killing whatever lie
Page 104 and 105:
(Perception) check. To set an appro
Page 106:
WILDERNESS Between the dungeons and
Page 109 and 110:
STRONGHOLDS Strongholds provide the
Page 111 and 112:
THIN leE Thin ice has a weight tole
Page 113 and 114:
RANDOM BUILDINGS Pulse-pounding cha
Page 115 and 116:
~~ I , " ,.. /
Page 117 and 118:
determining exhaustion. Swimming fo
Page 119 and 120:
AIRBORNE AND WATERBORNE VEHICLES Sh
Page 121 and 122:
actively looking for a trap can att
Page 123:
15 Dexterity check using thieves' t
Page 126 and 127:
To keep players from straying, save
Page 128 and 129:
MoRE Do-\\~TIME AcTn~TIE Chapter 8,
Page 130 and 131:
individuals interested in buying ma
Page 133 and 134:
CHAPTER 7: TREASURE DVENTURERS STRI
Page 135 and 136:
250 GP ART OBJECTS dlO Object Gold
Page 137 and 138:
TREASURE HOARD: CHALLENGE 0-4 CP SP
Page 139 and 140:
i cursed. Most methods of identifyi
Page 141 and 142:
Dwarves might make items usable onl
Page 143 and 144:
WHAT MINOR PROPERTY DOES IT HAVE? d
Page 145 and 146:
MAGIC ITEM TABLE c dlOO Magic Item
Page 147 and 148:
MAGIC ITEM TABLE G dlOO Magic Item
Page 149 and 150:
MAGIC ITEM TABLE I dlOO 01-05 06-10
Page 151 and 152:
APPARATUS OF K W A LISH ANIMATED SH
Page 153 and 154:
BAG OF 110LOING dlOO Effect 01 Sd4
Page 155 and 156:
The belt of stone giant strength an
Page 157 and 158:
BooTs o• STRIDING AND SPRINGING B
Page 159 and 160:
CLOAK OF THE MANTA RAY C I RCLE T O
Page 161 and 162:
The tower is made of adamantine, an
Page 163 and 164:
CHAPTER 7 I TREASURE
Page 165 and 166:
~t il the start of your next turn,
Page 167 and 168:
DR IFTGLOBE DusT OF DISAPPEARANCE E
Page 169 and 170:
Eves OF THE EAGLE SERPENTINE Owe FI
Page 171 and 172:
FLAME ToNGUE GAUNTLETS OF OGRE PowE
Page 173 and 174:
HAMMER OF THUNDERBOLTS Weapon (maul
Page 175 and 176:
1oLv AvENGER I MMOVABLE Roo 110RN O
Page 177 and 178:
A stone has AC 24, 10 hit points, a
Page 179 and 180:
JAVELIN OF LIGHTNING KEOGHTOM'S OIN
Page 181 and 182:
To create a golem, you must spend t
Page 183 and 184:
NINE LIVES STEALER Weapon (any swor
Page 185:
P I PES OF liAUNTING PiPES OF THE S
Page 188 and 189:
POTIONS OF HEALING Potion of ... He
Page 190 and 191:
RING OF ANIMAL INFLUENCE FREE ACTIO
Page 192 and 193:
RING OF P ROTECT ION RING OF SPELL
Page 194 and 195:
Rose oF Eves The eyes on the robe c
Page 196 and 197:
slots, up to a maximum of 5th level
Page 199 and 200:
RoPE oF ENTANGLEMENT by the rope ca
Page 201 and 202:
successfully copied. Whether the ch
Page 203 and 204:
equal to 16 x the number of charge
Page 205 and 206:
STAFF OF THE WooDLAND S STAFF OF WI
Page 207 and 208:
TALISMAN OF THE SPHERE TALISMAN OF
Page 209 and 210:
Vecna watches anyone using this tom
Page 211 and 212:
AND OF LIGHTNING BOLTS -land, rare
Page 213 and 214:
dlOO Effect 54-58 You cast darkness
Page 216 and 217:
A LIGN MENT A sentient magic item h
Page 218 and 219:
when it wants to communicate someth
Page 220 and 221:
MAJOR DETRIMENTAL PROPERTIES MINOR
Page 222 and 223:
Blessings of Moradin. If you are a
Page 224 and 225:
psychic damage, and each non-evil c
Page 226 and 227:
SwoRD OF KAs Wondrous item, artifac
Page 228 and 229:
A character should receive only a b
Page 230 and 231:
more·concerned about doing right b
Page 232:
BooN OF CoMBAT PROWESS When you mis
Page 236 and 237:
Have another player run the missing
Page 238 and 239:
CONTESTS A contest is a kind of abi
Page 240 and 241:
For example, imagine a wizard is ru
Page 242 and 243:
• RESOLUTION AND CONSEQUENCES You
Page 244 and 245:
TRACKING Adventurers sometimes choo
Page 246 and 247:
Also, characters and monsters with
Page 248 and 249:
ogres, each of which has 59 hit poi
Page 250 and 251:
launch a lightning bolt (100-foot l
Page 252 and 253:
OPTIONAL RULE: DIAGONALS The Player
Page 254 and 255:
Characters can create their own com
Page 256 and 257:
SIEGE TOWER Gargantuan object Armor
Page 258 and 259:
and is poisoned for 24 hours. On a
Page 260 and 261:
LONG-TERM MADNESS dlOO Effect (last
Page 263 and 264:
CHAPTER 9: DuNGEON MASTER's WoRKSHO
Page 265 and 266:
Honor measures not only a character
Page 267 and 268:
A character who uses a healing surg
Page 269 and 270:
PLOT POINTS Plot points allow playe
Page 271 and 272:
Initiative Modifiers. Modifiers mig
Page 273 and 274:
Instead of using the effect describ
Page 275 and 276:
adjust the challenge rating uggesre
Page 277 and 278:
STEP 9. DAMAGE VuL "ER..'\BILITIES,
Page 279 and 280:
The Monster Features table list \·
Page 281 and 282:
Name Light Sensitivity Magic Resist
Page 283 and 284:
The NPC Features table summarizes t
Page 285 and 286:
The simpler your approach. the easi
Page 287 and 288:
Age. Aasimar mature at the arne rat
Page 289 and 290:
SPELL POINTS BY LEVEL Class Level S
Page 291 and 292:
DOORS Whenever a table roll indicat
Page 293 and 294:
DUNGEO N: LAIR d20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-
Page 295 and 296:
GENERAL DUNGEON CHAMBERS d100 Purpo
Page 297 and 298:
I / d20 2 4-8 9-12 13-14 15 16 17 1
Page 299 and 300:
AIR dlOO 01-60 61-70 71-80 81-83 84
Page 301 and 302:
CONTAINER CONTENTS dlOO Item dlOO I
Page 303 and 304:
Monsters Challenge Rating (XP) Brow
Page 305 and 306:
UNDERDARK MONSTERS UNDERWATER MONST
Page 307 and 308:
Half-ogre Harpy Hippogriff Imp Kuo
Page 309 and 310:
CHALLENGE 11 (7,200 XP) Vampire Mum
Page 312 and 313:
APPENDIX C I MAPS
Page 314 and 315:
APPENDiX C I MAPS
Page 316 and 317:
APPENDIX D: DUNGEON MASTER INSPIRAT
Page 318 and 319:
creating a wi lderness, 14, El emen
Page 320:
shipwrecks, 118 structure (ad ventu
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